Anatolia

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or Asian Turkey, is a geographic region that is located in Western Asia. Separated from Europe by the Dardanelles, the region has been an important place in history, as it was often fought over by the early civilizations (the Hittites came from Anatolia) and by the Muslims and the Byzantine Empire from the 8th century to the 15th century. Anatolia is today a part of Turkey, consisting of most of Turkey's Asian territory except for the lands beyond the Armenian Highlands.